Graduation and getting old

Terri Ketterman, The Inside Groove.com
May 15, 2004

My oldest daughter graduated college this week. When she came into my life, she was a gangly, quiet but stubborn 12 year old whose world revolved around her five year old brother, her sister who is sixteen months her junior, and her vast Barbie doll collection. She was smart, funny, and artistic with an infectious laugh. She was uncertain about what to do with this new strange person in her life, but somehow we were able to become family. We had growing pains (both of us), of course. We had times we disagreed, we had times with uncomfortable silences. As a teenager, she was typical: unruly, selfish, sometimes downright hurtful, but I loved her nonetheless. Remind you of anything?

Tuesday night, watching her laugh and wave at me from deep in the rows of excited graduates, I realized what an incredible woman she is, what a wonderful person she has grown up to be. The gangly, quiet and stubborn little girl is gone. She is graceful, well spoken, and confident. She’s in the big leagues now, baby, and she’s going places.

At the risk of sounding like I have no life and a really warped sense of what’s important, I’m going to confess that I thought of her again today. I thought of her while I was listening to all the hubbub about the 2005 schedule, the endless (and frankly, a little tiresome) talk of growth and NASCAR. It dawned on me that while my Katie has grown, her soul is the same. She still has the qualities that make her special, that make her Katie: smart, funny, and artistic with an infectious laugh that will keep her young no matter her age.

I wrote a piece in February mourning my decision to go to Daytona instead of Rockingham this year. In that piece, I referred to the 2004 Rockingham race as “The One That Got Away”. My fears were realized and I do regret not attending at least one race at that track where the racing was unique, exciting and fun. That being said, the fact that the grandstands hadn’t been filled in years fairly sealed the fate of the Rockingham fans. This is growth – leaving behind the gangly, quiet and stubborn.

During NASCAR’s press conference today, Brian France mentioned “reaching new fans” several times. I wonder if there has been any thought given to the fact that the races on these new tracks in these new markets, while exciting for those fans in attendance, can be tedious for television viewers. Frankly, for those of us in the living room, it can get old. My home track, New Hampshire International Speedway, suffers from this problem. While events held there can be snoozers on the small screen, it manages to be a very exciting show from the grandstands (Really!). This has a lot to do with the quality of the television coverage, of course, but that’s a whole other column.

Seeing an event in person does firm up the fan base and does create new fans. I’m happy for the fans at Texas and Phoenix, but I’m concerned about the ability of races at these and similar facilities being able to hold the long term attention of television viewers over the course of the coming years. If I were a sponsor, I’d rather have 5 million people watching on television and 65,000 people in the grandstands than 150,000 people in the grandstands and 1 million people watching on television. NASCAR needs to grow, but it also needs to remain what it still is for the most part: exciting in person and in the living room, with varied venues and thrilling, close competition that keeps both viewers and tailgaters hooked.

I make no bones about, and no apologies for, my love of Darlington. Mostly it is because of the track and the racing, but I do love that part of the country and look forward to the day when I can call it home once again. I regret that NASCAR’s latest move will have an enormous impact on the precarious economy of the Pee Dee region. That being said, I fully understand and am willing to accept the loss of one Darlington date, in the interest of growing the sport, in the interest of reaching new fans. Note to Brian France: this understanding does not extend to the loss of Darlington’s remaining date, which I promise you, will happen simultaneously with my complete abandonment of everything that is NASCAR.

NASCAR needs to grow, it needs to graduate to the big leagues and go places. It also needs to retain its soul to stay young. It needs to keep in mind the result of uncontrollable growth:

Getting old.

Contact Terri Ketterman at tketterman@theinsidegroove.com.